Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ (vv.1-2).

Deep down, each of us longs to know what we’re here on earth to do—to have some sense of purpose and mission. Some people have a ‘life verse’ from the Bible that gives them succinct focus. If you don’t have one of those, perhaps today’s passage is a good one to adopt.

What’s your life’s mission? According to Ephesians, our life mission has three elements:

To live loved. Before there is any grand vision for you to pursue or great accomplishment to achieve, you’re to receive the love that God has for you. We’re His “dear children” (Ephesians 5:1; 1 John 3:1). Before we ever loved Him, He loved us (4:19). “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8). Before there’s anything for you to do, there’s something for you to be—loved by God.

To imitate God. Because you’re His child, you’re to imitate your Father as a child imitates her parent (Ephesians 5:1). Notice how this is stated more in character terms than in career decisions. We imitate Him by being kind, compassionate and forgiving to others—the way He’s been to us (4:32). He sets the standard, we follow. He’s the source of goodness, and we’re channels of it.

To love others. “Live a life filled with love,” Paul says, “following the example of Christ” (5:2). All the dreams we pursue, all the career goals we set, all the tasks we do are to reflect the great commandment of love for God and others (Matthew 22:37-39). And this love is measured in sacrifice (Ephesians 5:2). The love we’ve received from God, and watched Him live out, we now offer to those around us.

ABOUT US

YMI (which stands for Why Am I?), is a platform for Christian young people all over the world to ask questions about life and discover their true purpose. We are a community with different talents but the same desire to make sense of God’s life-changing word in our everyday lives.